Chinese Tourists Say Aloha to Hawaii

A woman walks with her surf board at Waikiki beach in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

China’s southern island of Hainan has long lured domestic tourists to its sandy beaches and tropical climate by billing itself as the “Hawaii of the East.”

But the country’s flagship carrier Air China concluded that Chinese travelers are now ready for the real thing. This week it begins direct flights from Beijing to Honolulu, and airline officials say they see plenty of demand for the new route.

Tourists jump for a photo among flowers by Poyang Lake in rural Duchang County, Jianxi province.

Zuma Press

“We are really optimistic about the flights and we believe the load factor can reach more than 80% this year,” He Zhigang, managing director of Air China’s marketing department told reporters Monday.

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Chinese tourists who want to go to Hawaii will no longer have to transfer via Seoul or Tokyo. The airline plans three direct flights a week and hints that if traffic permits, more flights could be in store.

Even without direct flights, some 130,000 Chinese visited Hawaii last year, up 20% from a year earlier, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. That’s higher than the 18% growth in outbound travelers overall for the year.

Along with the surf and sun, Hawaii also appeals to Chinese tourists with its abundance of shopping. Average daily spending by Chinese visitors in the first 10 months of 2013 was $391.40, the highest of all visitors to Hawaii, according to the tourism authority. Shopping was visitors’ No. 1 expenditure, followed by lodging, food and entertainment, the tourism authority said.

Air China isn’t the only organization to see growth potential in Chinese tourists. Brokerage CLSA estimates that as income rises, outbound mainland tourist numbers will reach 200 million by 2020, double the 100 million in 2013, and that tourist spending will triple existing levels.

While the brokerage sees Hong Kong and Macau holding onto the top spots in international travel destinations, it says their share of the total will decline as holiday makers seek more exotic destinations.

For Hawaii – exotic fits. “Hawaii rates high as far as being exotic goes,” said Mr. He.

Helping things along, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has been speeding up its visa processing. An embassy official said it now aims to keep the approval process to one week—down from previous highs of 70 to 100 days.

Travelers between China and the U.S., both inbound and outbound, rose 6%-8% last year to more than 4 million people, Mr. He said, predicting further double-digit growth this year.

The airline already has direct flights from China to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston, and is adding Washington soon too. And Air China knows what fills the seats. Airline officials note that on the way to Honolulu — while passengers are thinking about riding the Hawaiian surf – they can also surf online.

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